Zimunya, Zimbabwe — Under worryingly clear skies, men gathered amid sparse, drought-shrivelled trees at the edge of this remote village in eastern Zimbabwe to sing, whistle and ululate. They were calling the rain. "We must go back to our traditions for solutions to these droughts," said 80-year-old Nekias Mukwindidza. His grandfather Tenzi (Lord) Chitowo was a revered rainmaker in the area as far back as the 1940s, and Mukwindidza is confident that reviving the abandoned custom could help relieve Zimbabwe’s worsening droughts. "I know what I am talking about because I grew up taking part in these ceremonies," he said. "And they could bring rainfall, back in the days." But as rainmaking makes a comeback in parts of parched Zimbabwe, scientists warn that such traditions may prove a distraction from more effective ways to deal with drought. Those include switching from the country’s thirsty staple, maize, to more drought-hardy crops such as millet and sorghum, capturing and storing mor...
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